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Harve$t Moon Billionaires Club - Members OnlyPrev TopicNext Topic
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“How you do anything is how you do everything.”United States
Member #76,984
July 10, 2009
10,759 Posts
OfflineSudden Money Syndrome
You're suddenly rich? Bummer.
Who doesn't dream of landing a windfall someday -- of winning the lottery, inheriting $3 million from a long-lost aunt, finding a suitcase full of unmarked bills on the bus -- or a genie in a bottle? Me, I'm not terribly picky about where the millions come from, because the cash alone will solve all my problems.
At least that's the fantasy. The reality of life after a windfall isn't nearly as rosy. In fact, being flooded with a sudden fortune, whether earned or inherited, can be highly stressful and sometimes even traumatizing, say a new breed of financial experts who call themselves "wealth counselors."
I know. You look a little dubious. Skeptical, even. And who can blame you (or me) for raising an eyebrow (or snorting) at the idea that an enormous truckload of cash would be hard to handle? Sure, I'd give my left arm for it, and that would be a little painful. Of course. But I'd adapt.
But sudden money has a dark side. Most of us idealize what life would be like with Big Money. It's easy to forget that, like any drug, money can have a strangely distorting affect on our lives -- especially when taken in large quantities.
A windfall "changes all the parameters of how you live," says Dennis Pearne, Ed.D., author of "The Challenges of Wealth" and a pioneer in this odd little corner of financial management (see link at left under "Related Sites"). "It changes what you can do, what you no longer have to do, where you can live, how much you can travel. So much changes so fast that it can be terribly overwhelming, and some people go into money shock."
We should all have such problems
I desperately want a taste of that money shock. Which is part of the reason I am ridiculously fascinated by the phenomenon.
I mean, observing wealth and those who have it is has always been one of the most compelling spectator sports. Why do the British still keep that stuffy monarchy around -- except to watch them live their impossibly affluent lives? Why are Americans addicted to the most brainless publication on earth, "InStyle"?
It's not enough to envy those who are wealthy. We want to press our noses up against their rich-and-famous lifestyles to better tally all the things They Have, and all the things We Don't Have, because we think what They Have is better.
In fact, we think we'd just love to be afflicted with Sudden Money Syndrome . . . although Susan Bradley, a financial planner and founder of The Sudden Money Institute in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. would tell you to be careful what you wish for.
Bradley focuses on strategies to help people cope with the swirl of confusing emotions and impulses that come with sudden money. In fact, she wrote a book about it, "Sudden Money: Managing a Financial Windfall." But after her book was published in 2000, she says, "I started hearing more about Sudden Loss."
Here's what she found: Sudden loss and sudden wealth have quite a bit in common. Bradley found that the techniques she used with clients suffering from sudden wealth were just as useful for those plummeting toward a dot-com bottom. "That's when I realized that it's not about the sudden increase in income, it's about the sudden shift," Bradley said.
Abrupt changes, emotional bombshells
All this may be more relevant to your own life than you think. PowerBall or no, any of us could experience a sudden financial shift. That's painfully true for the many Americans who have lost their jobs in the past few years.
Meanwhile, thousands of workers who were on the verge of retirement saw their retirement money shrivel with the stock market, or simply stop growing. They've had to swerve back into the job market, a very sudden shift in their life plans.
On the plus side, some of us may indeed get to experience some sort of windfall in our lifetimes. The Social Welfare Resource Institute at Boston College estimates that as the older generation dies, some $41 trillion will be passed on to following generations.
With all those lives in flux, it is emotional bombshells that people are ill-equipped to handle, experts say. If you are going through a sudden financial change, it's critical to navigate through the emotional maze to avoid making unwise decisions and destabilizing your financial situation even further.
What? No sympathy?
Dennis Pearne tells the story of one client, a software developer, who had a wildly successful IPO and netted about $24 million overnight. Within a matter of months, his life was a mess and he had lost every dime in risky, overseas investments. Was the anxiety of wealth so great he needed to blow it? Did he feel on some level he didn't deserve it?
Pearne says that this software developer experienced a number of emotional factors in his life that reached a crescendo -- insecurity, shame, a bit of paranoia -- which is what many people experience after a sudden money shift. As his inner compass went spinning, he made faulty decisions. You might not think that fear and shame and guilt and anger and anxiety would be your first response to a major cash infusion, but it's very common.
Another problem: Who can possibly understand your woes? "Isolation can be a big factor," says Thayer Willis, author of the book, "Navigating the Dark Side of Wealth."
"People who are dealing with these challenges of wealth know that most people won't sympathize or empathize. Their attitude is: I should have your problems," Willis says.
And that's just one way that sudden money, or lack of it, can skew personal relationships. More than Money, a nonprofit based in Arlington, Mass., offers peer counseling for the recently rich that it says is free of "sales, fees, solicitations, scorn or envy."
There can be other emotional fallout. If the wealth arrives due to someone's death, recipients can feel tremendous amounts of anger and resentment. "Maybe the money comes from someone you didn't have a good relationship with," Willis adds. "Or maybe the fortune was created in a way the recipient doesn't like or disapproves of. Some people feel, 'I don't want anything to do with this money!' "
Then there's the shock factor. "Quite often, families keep trusts and inheritances a secret from their children," Pearne says. "We have clients who arrived at their 21st birthdays and had millions handed to them, and they have no way, emotionally or technically, to cope with it. That is traumatizing."
5 strategies for coping with a money shift
These practical measures can be helpful whether you've suddenly hit the jackpot or lost it all.
1. Take a timeout. "The first rule is to park the money," says Pearne. Don't do anything with it, and don't make any major decisions about your finances for at least three months, he advises. That allows time to get one's bearings and make plans.
2. Get organized. While it's not a time to make decisions, you need to figure out what the decisions will be, says Susan Bradley, and that requires getting organized. Go through your assets and debts; pay any taxes and high-interest debt. Review your insurance coverage. Think about how you're going to live while you're in this planning stage.
3. Figure out your bottom line. Pearne asks people to research their situation until they know the answers to these five questions:
- What is your net worth?
- What is your income?
- What are your fixed expenses?
- What is your tax obligation?
- How much is left over?
4. Know your priorities. The money moratorium is an opportunity to engage in what Bradley calls "a touchstone exercise." Basically, you keep asking yourself questions about what you want to do, how you want to live, and what is important to you. Do you want to live in a cabin in Montana? Do you want to pay for all your children's educations? Do you want to engage in more philanthropy? Wait it out, get your bearings, pin down your priorities.
5. Assemble a financial team. When the emotions have subsided and you've given yourself some time to fully grasp your new financial situation, then it's time to enlist the help of an adviser. For the suddenly wealthy, that can mean an accountant, a financial planner, an investment adviser and an estate attorney. "On the soft side," says Pearne, "you may want a counselor or wealth psychologist."
Thanks ~ MP Dunleavy
Method 1: 7-0-3
Method 2: 1-1-2
Method 3: 3-5-5
Method 4: 6-3-2
Method 5: 2-0-3
Method 6: 7-7-8Method 1: 9-8-9-0
Method 2: 8-9-1-8
Method 3: 5-6-3-7
Method 4: 9-8-8-3
Method 5: 3-2-5-3
Method 6: 1-0-4-7.
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“How you do anything is how you do everything.”United States
Member #76,984
July 10, 2009
10,759 Posts
OfflineHow to Become a Billionaire
7 Billionaire Habits to Pick Up
Billionaires didn't get to where they are just by snapping their fingers. It took a lot of hard work and determination for them to make the big bucks, and many of them have habits that are applicable to non-billionaires like you and I. Learn some savvy lessons from these 7 billionaires — they sure know what they're doing!
Live Below Your Means
Although Mark Zuckerberg can certainly afford to buy his own home years ago, he has only recently made the move to become a homeowner. Although his house costs $7 million, the price tag is incomparable to his net worth, which is estimated to be $17.5 billion by Forbes. That makes the house valued at 0.04 percent of how much Mark is worth.
To put things into perspective on what that means for the average person, I'm going to use the networth of our personal finance blogger buddy (which he publishes regularly), Budgets Are Sexy, as an example. His current networth is calculated to be $309,002.70. If he were following Mark's example, he would only be able to buy a house that costs $123.60.
Mark is definitely living well below his means, and it's a lesson that all of us — billionaire or no billionaire — needs to learn.
Give Back to Society
Bill Gates gave away so much of his money that it lowered his ranking on Forbes. He would've been the richest man in the world last year with $88 billion, beating Carlos Slim's $74 billion, if he didn't donate so much to his philanthropic causes, says Reuters. Thanks to his wealthy support, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest in the US.
You don't have to give away billions like Bill Gates, but you can take the time to volunteer or even spread the word about causes. Even just being eco-conscious can make a difference.
Think Long Term
Warren Buffett is known for investing with long-term results in sight, and not just someone who buys and sells quickly. Take Buffett's heed and start planning your money life with the end goal in mind.
Although retirement seems eons away, start saving now so you'll have even more savings to tap into when the time finally comes. The earlier you start, the more compounding interest — the interest that accrues on both your initial deposit and the accumulated interest — will work to your advantage.
Do What You Love
On an episode last year, Oprah Winfrey said, "People find happiness in direct proportion to doing what they love. If you don't do what you love, you die a little every day."
It's important to have a career you enjoy. You spend a lot of your waking hours at work, so try make it your mission to either work on a plan that will see you in your dream job, or if it's just a case of falling out of love with a job you used to adore, reignite the early honeymoon days with these tips.
Practice Makes Perfect
Everyone marvels over the compelling presentations that the enigmatic Steve Jobs gives, but that's not just due to a stroke of luck. "Jobs unveils Apple's latest products as if he were a particularly hip and plugged-in friend showing off inventions in your living room. Truth is, the sense of informality comes only after grueling hours of practice," says a Business Week article.
To be good at something, it takes a lot of hard work and practice. Even the skill of networking can be honed if you work at it.
Live Life to the Fullest
Many billionaires understand the concept of living each day as if it were your last. Sarah Blakely, the billionaire creator of Spanx, dealt with mortality at a young age, having seen her best friend get run over by a car at the age of 16. "I think that when you witness death at age 16, there's a sense of urgency about life," Blakely says. "The thought of my mortality — I think about it a lot. I find it motivating. It can be any time that your number's up."
Steve Jobs was also known for his quotes on mortality. "Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart," the late tech visionary said.
Don't be afraid to take risks because you really have nothing to lose. Make the most of the life you're living.
Trust Your Gut
Ralph Lauren relies on his gut and trusts himself to move forward. "I don't have to do a focus group to know what people want. I feel it," Ralph Lauren tells Oprah Winfrey in an interview. "You know what's going to touch people because it has touched you. A person's genius is her realness, her gut—not her college degree."
Don't do things to please other people. Please yourself first, and the success will follow if you're true to yourself.
Thanks ~ Emily Co
Method 1: 8-2-0
Method 2: 7-9-7
Method 3: 3-1-5
Method 4: 7-9-4
Method 5: 1-2-5
Method 6: 1-4-8Method 1: 8-7-8-0
Method 2: 5-6-1-7
Method 3: 2-7-4-3
Method 4: 0-7-5-1
Method 5: 0-1-6-2
Method 6: 6-0-2-0 -
Sounds nice...
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“How you do anything is how you do everything.”United States
Member #76,984
July 10, 2009
10,759 Posts
OfflineThe Fabulous Life of Billion Dollar Wall Street Ballers $
The Wall Street Billionaires
455 372 546 112 437 647 2391 3215 7244 9908 8934 6264
1804 4035 6548 8704 1681 3827 252 147 671 718 634 144
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“How you do anything is how you do everything.”United States
Member #76,984
July 10, 2009
10,759 Posts
OfflineThe World's 12 Most Eligible Billionaire Bachelors
My late father used to tell me it’s just as easy to fall in love with, and marry, a rich guy as it is a poor guy. That is pretty much nonsense, especially if you are talking about someone who is really, really rich. Unless you are a supermodel, Cinderella or perhaps incredibly lucky in love, the odds are stacked against you.
But every now and then there is that story that gives hope to thousands of young women around the globe. The one I like to tell involves a young Forbes reporter, Natasha Bacigalupo, who started dating billionaire publishing scion Dirk Ziff in the 1990s after meeting him while on assignment. She later quit her job and ended up marrying Ziff. The two are apparently still happily married. Priscilla Chan met her boyfriend, Mark Zuckerberg, when they were freshmen at Harvard. Years later, they are still together, living in his $7 million home and caring for their dog. Former Wall Street Journal reporter Cari Tuna quit her job last year to help her boyfriend, the world’s youngest billionaire Dustin Moskovitz, launch a foundation, Good Ventures. Tuna, who is its president, is now engaged to Moskovitz.
So for those who want to indulge in a bit of fantasy, who are the world’s most eligible billionaires? We scoured our research but found very few. In this year’s record class of 1,226 billionaires, just 38, or 3%, have never been married. Another 92 are divorced and 6 are separated. Of these people who are technically up for grabs, 31 including 3 women are under age 50.
But the numbers tell just a part of the story. Many of these supposedly available people have a lot of baggage. Russian Dmitry Rybolovlev, for instance, is separated from his wife, who alleges in lawsuits that he is trying to withhold assets from her. A number seem to have no interest in settling down. Still others, not surprisingly, already have girlfriends.
For our list of the dozen most eligible we left off those who are engaged or seem close to taking that step (thus why Zuckerberg isn’t included), but kept a couple of others whose status was less clear. Among that group are Brazilian born, U.S. raised, Singapore resident, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, and dashing Colombian heir Alejandro Santo Domingo, who dated publishing heiress Amanda Hearst and is now apparently with Sports Illustrated model Julie Henderson.
Also making the cut are perennial playboys Mikhail Prokhorov, who owns the New Jersey Nets; Nicolas Berggruen, the “homeless” billionaire, who prefers to live out of hotels and travel the world; and banking scion Nat Rothschild.
Perhaps a more realistic option is someone like tech billionaire Robert Pera. A former Apple engineer who struck out on his own in 2005 and took his Ubiquiti Networks public just six years later, Pera, who lives in a one bedroom apartment in San Jose, may have just been too busy to settle down – yet.
Elon Musk is the only person on our list who has been previously married – he divorced his first wife, with whom he has 5 kids and recently separated from his second. When asked if he still believed in love, he recently told Forbes reporter Hannah Elliott , “Yeah, absolutely,” and went onto describe the traits of his deal mate – someone who is selfless, hardworking, realistic. She then asked him how would he feel if he couldn’t find it. “That would be sad because then I will not have anyone,” answered Musk. For some reason, I don’t think he’ll have any trouble finding someone.
Here is our list of the world’s 12 most eligible billionaire bachelors, in order of youngest to oldest.
Albert von Thurn und Taxis, Age 28, German prince lives in a castle with his family
Eduardo Saverin, Age 30, Facebook cofounder living in Singapore
Robert Pera, Age 34, California tech entrepreneur
Yoshikazu Tanaka, Age 35, Japanese tech entrepreneur
Alejandro Santo Domingo, Age 35, Colombian heir living in Manhattan
Teddy Sagi, Age 40, Israeli tech entrepreneur
Nat Rothschild, Age 40, banking scion
Elon Musk, Age 40, serial entrepreneur living in Southern California
Xavier Niel, Age 44, French telecom entrepreneur
Mikhail Prokhorov, Age 47, Russian owner of New Jersey NetsNicolas Berggruen, Age 50, globetrotting “homeless” billionaire
Mitchell Goldhar, Age 51, Canadian real estate tycoon
Thanks ~ Luisa Kroll, Forbes (3-30-2012)
28 30 34 35 40 44 47 50 51
Google for pics.
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“How you do anything is how you do everything.”United States
Member #76,984
July 10, 2009
10,759 Posts
OfflineIt Ain't Over: The Business 9 Women Kept A Secret For Three Decades
One of the reasons I started my website was so that women could have a place to come together and dream. Women should know that they don't have to hold on to an old dream that has stopped nurturing them -- that there is always time to start a new dream. This week's story is about 9 women who have kept a very sweet secret for more than 30 years. -– Marlo, MarloThomas com
By Lori Weiss
Somewhere in West Tennessee, not far from Graceland, nine women -- or "The 9 Nanas," as they prefer to be called -- gather in the darkness of night. At 4am they begin their daily routine -- a ritual that no one, not even their husbands, knew about for 30 years. They have one mission and one mission only: to create happiness. And it all begins with baked goods.
“One of us starts sifting the flour and another washing the eggs,” explained Nana Mary Ellen, the appointed spokesperson for their secret society. “And someone else makes sure the pans are all ready. We switch off, depending on what we feel like doing that day.
“But you make sure to say Nana Pearl is in charge, because she’s the oldest!” she added with a wink and a smile.
Over the next three hours, The 9 Nanas (who all consider themselves sisters, despite what some of their birth certificates say) will whip up hundreds of pound cakes, as part of a grand scheme to help those in need. And then, before anyone gets as much as a glimpse of them, they’ll disappear back into their daily lives. The only hint that may remain is the heavenly scent of vanilla, lemon and lime, lingering in the air.
Even the UPS driver, who picks up hundreds of packages at a time, has no clue what these women, who range in age from 54 to 72, are doing. He’s just happy to get a hug and a bag filled with special treats. What he doesn’t know is that he’s part of their master plan. A plan that began 35 years ago -- when the “sisters” got together for their weekly card game -- something their husbands referred to as “Broads and Bridge.”
“Pearl says it was all her idea,” Mary Ellen teased, “but as I remember it, we were sitting around reminiscing about MaMaw and PaPaw and all the different ways they would lend a hand in the community.” MaMaw and PaPaw are the grandparents who raised four of the women, Mary Ellen included, when their mother passed away; and they took in Pearl as their own, when her parents needed some help.
“MaMaw Ruth would read in the paper that someone had died,” Mary Ellen remembered, “and she’d send off one of her special pound cakes. She didn’t have to know the family. She just wanted to put a little smile on their faces. And we started thinking about what we could do to make a difference like that. What if we had a million dollars? How would we spend it?
So the ladies began brainstorming.
“One of the sisters suggested that we should all start doing our own laundry and put the money we saved to good use. I admit, I protested at first. There’s just something about laundering that I don’t like. But I was outnumbered! So among the nine of us, we’d put aside about $400 a month and our husbands never noticed a thing. Their shirts looked just fine.”
And then the women started listening. They’d eavesdrop -- all with good intentions, of course -- at the local beauty shop or when they were picking up groceries. And when they heard about a widow or a single mom who needed a little help, they’d step in and anonymously pay a utility bill or buy some new clothes for the children.
“We wanted to help as much as we could,” Mary Ellen said, “without taking away from our own families, so we became coupon clippers. And we’d use green stamps. Remember those? We’d use green stamps and we’d make sure to go to Goldsmith’s department store on Wednesdays. Every week they’d have a big sale and you could spend $100 and walk away with $700 worth of merchandise.”
The Nanas would find out where the person lived and send a package with a note that simply said, “Somebody loves you” -- and they’d be sure to include one of MaMaw Ruth’s special pound cakes.
The more people they helped, the bolder they became.
“We gave new meaning to the term drive-by,” Mary Ellen said with delight. “We’d drive through low-income neighborhoods and look for homes that had fans in the window. That told us that the people who lived there didn’t have air-conditioning. Or we’d see that there were no lights on at night, which meant there was a good chance their utilities had been turned off. Then we’d return before the sun came up, like cat burglars, and drop off a little care package.”
For three decades, the ladies’ good deeds went undetected -- that is, until five years ago, when Mary Ellen’s husband, whom she lovingly calls “Southern Charmer,” started noticing extra mileage on the car and large amounts of cash being withdrawn from their savings account.
“He brought out bank statements and they were highlighted!” Mary Ellen said, recalling the horror she felt. “I tried to explain that I had bought some things, but he had this look on his face that I’d never seen before -- and I realized what he must have been thinking. I called the sisters and said, 'You all need to get over here right away.'”
So 30 years into their secret mission, the 9 Nanas and their husbands gathered in Mary Ellen’s living room and the sisters came clean. They told the husbands about the laundry and the eavesdropping -- even the drive-bys. And that’s where their story gets even better -- because the husbands offered to help.
“They were amazed that we were doing this and even more amazed that they never knew. We can keep a good secret! All but three of them are retired now, so sometimes they come with us on our drive-bys. In our area, all you need is an address to pay someone’s utility bill, so we keep the men busy jotting down numbers.”
It wasn’t long before the couples decided it was also time to tell their grown children. And that’s when happiness began to happen in an even bigger way. The children encouraged their mothers to start selling MaMaw Ruth’s pound cakes online, so they could raise money to help even more people. And it wasn’t long before they were receiving more than 100 orders in a day.
“The first time we saw those orders roll in, we were jumping up and down,” Mary Ellen said with a laugh. “We were so excited that we did a ring-around-the-rosie! Then we called all the children and said, 'What do we do next?'"
That’s when the 9 Nanas moved their covert baking operation out of their homes and into the commercial kitchen of a restaurant owned by one of their sons, where they can sneak in before sunrise and sneak out before the staff comes in. They even hired a “happiness coordinator” (whose code name is “Sunny,” of course). Her identity needs to be a secret, too, so she can help out with the eavesdropping.
“We swore her to secrecy -- her parents think she works in marketing. And, really, if you think about it, she is doing public relations and spends a lot of time looking for people to help at the supermarket!”
These days, The 9 Nanas are able to take on even bigger projects, given their online success. Recently they donated more than $5,000 of pillows and linens and personal care products to a shelter for survivors of domestic violence. And this August, they’ll celebrate their second consecutive “Happiness Happens Month” by sending tokens of their appreciation to one person in every state who has made a difference in their own community.
And that million dollars they once wished for? They’re almost there. In the last 35 years, the 9 Nanas have contributed nearly $900,000 of happiness to their local community.
But that doesn’t mean they’re too busy to continue doing the little things that make life a bit happier. Sometimes they just pull out the phone book and send off pound cakes to complete strangers. And if the Nanas spot someone at the grocery store who appears to need a little help, it’s not unusual for them to start filling a stranger’s cart.
“Not everyone is as lucky as we were to have MaMaw and PaPaw to take care of them, to fix all those things that are wrong.
“So this is our way of giving back,” Mary Ellen said. “We want people to know that someone out there cares enough to do something. We want to make sure that happiness happens.” Happiness-Happens com
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“How you do anything is how you do everything.”United States
Member #76,984
July 10, 2009
10,759 Posts
OfflineThis post is very long and will be split into several posts for ease of reading.
Congress members get lots of money while in office. Numbers are within the article and also at the end.
The 50 Richest Members of Congress
This article was researched, reported and written by Jennifer Yachnin, Paul Singer, Melanie Zanona, Rachael Bade and Jessica Estepa. (9-16-10) Thanks ~ Rollcall com
While the economy stagnated in 2009, the personal fortunes of Congress’ wealthiest Members underwent seismic shifts — at least on paper.
Roll Call’s annual survey of the 50 Richest Members of Congress found the personal fortune of Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) exploded in 2009, nearly doubling his minimum net worth, while the bottom line for Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) shrunk by more 70 percent.
Not to mention Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) — owner of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks — who now appears to be the poorest Member of Congress.
But while it’s all based on a version of the truth — the annual financial disclosure reports that Members must file each year — none of it is necessarily accurate.
Under federal law, Members must disclose their personal investments and liabilities, but only in broad categories, shielding the exact value of any asset or debt.
To determine the richest lawmakers, Roll Call adds up the minimum value of total assets reported by each Member on their annual financial disclosures and subtracts the minimum liabilities.
An asset valued at $5 million to $25 million is counted at the lesser amount, as is a liability valued at $1 million to $5 million.
Those ranges mean that a Member’s fortune can shift dramatically should an asset swing into the next category, even if the real change is a few thousand dollars up or down.
Lummis, for example, lost more than $12 million from her apparent minimum net worth in 2009 when each of her three Cheyenne, Wyo.-based cattle ranches dropped into the $1 million to $5 million category. The actual change in value of the ranches is not revealed on her report, nor is she required to state the difference, but it is a good bet that she is not $12 million poorer this year.
The way a Member reports an asset can likewise shift a lawmaker’s minimum net worth.
In his 2008 financial disclosure, McCaul detailed an investment account held by his wife, a portion of which was valued at $25 million to $50 million. In his most recent report, McCaul appeared to report the two items separately and valued each at $25 million to $50 million, a decision that nearly doubled his apparent minimum net worth.
Then there’s Kohl, whose enormous wealth is effectively erased by the reporting categories.
The Wisconsin Democrat estimates the value of his NBA franchise at “over $50 million,” the maximum value provided on the financial disclosure forms. But Forbes estimated in December 2009 that the team, the least valuable in the NBA, is worth $254 million and carries a debt of $22 million.
Roll Call’s methodology focuses solely on information made available through the disclosure process and does not evaluate outside data.
Kohl hung on to the penultimate place on Roll Call’s 50 Richest list last year, but the addition of two new loans valued at $5 million to $25 million canceled out his assets in 2009, theoretically rendering him $4.65 million in the red. But he’s still probably richer than almost anybody else in Congress.
Although Members must disclose information on assets such as investment accounts and rental properties, lawmakers are not required to disclose the details of personal residences — including second or vacation homes — or other economic indicators, including valuable artwork, antiques or automobiles not held for investment.
Such details long propelled Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner into the ranks of the wealthiest Members, but his
decision to convert his hyperdetailed personal financial report — including disclosure of his traveler’s
checks and stamp collection — to the standard form and value ranges leaves the Wisconsin Republican
off the list this time around.
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“How you do anything is how you do everything.”United States
Member #76,984
July 10, 2009
10,759 Posts
OfflineThe 50 Richest Members of Congress, cont'd.
1. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.)
$188.37 millionIt has become old hat: Kerry is the richest Member of Congress for the 13th time in the 15 years since his 1995 marriage to Teresa Heinz Kerry, widow of the late Sen. John Heinz (R-Pa.), the scion of the ketchup fortune.
The value of Kerry’s disclosed assets bounces between $200 million and $300 million each year, and his liabilities hang a little below $50 million. However, in various years other estimates have placed the family’s net worth at probably three times the value shown on Congressional reports. Assets held in the name of a spouse can be reported as being worth “over $1 million” no matter how far over that number the actual value falls.
Kerry’s minimum net worth as reported in his 2009 financial disclosures ticked up to about $188 million, 12 percent higher than the previous year’s $168 million. The minimum value of one Heinz family bond fund rose from $42 million to $45 million, and the number of assets listed as being worth more than $1 million rose from 129 to 141, which is still shy of the 180 assets in this category that Kerry reported for 2007.
The Senator also trimmed the minimum value of his liabilities from $47 million to $44 million.
2. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.)
$160.05 millionThe California lawmaker’s fortunes dipped slightly in 2009, but Issa nonetheless maintains his claim as the House’s richest Member.
According to his 2009 financial report, Issa cashed out a money market fund valued at more than $50 million. He reported buying numerous mutual funds, including 10 accounts valued at $5 million to $25 million and one investment account valued at $25 million to $50 million.
Issa also reported selling numerous municipal bonds, with a combined minimum value of $22 million.
But Issa, who founded Vista, Calif.-based Directed Electronics, which manufactures car alarms, maintains the bulk of his fortune in two corporations that own and operate office and industrial properties in California: DEI and Greene Properties Inc., valued at more than $50 million and from $25 million to $50 million, respectively.
Issa also reported an investment in Viper, a similar real estate firm, valued at $5 million to $25 million.
Issa reported one new debt, a line of credit from Merrill Lynch valued at $1 million to $5 million.
3. Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.)
$152.62 millionWhile still short of the $225 million fortune she reported in 2007, Harman’s wealth appeared to rebound in 2009 by more than $40 million, or about 36 percent.
Harman’s fiscal recovery stems largely from an increase in the value of one of her husband’s holdings in Harman International Industries to more than $50 million. That account was valued at $25 million to $50 million in 2008.
Harman’s own holdings in her husband’s audio products company — which manufactures electronics under the brand names AKG Acoustics, Harman Kardon, Infinity and JBL — remained level at a value of at least $5 million.
In addition, Harman reported growth in the value of four family trusts to nearly $80 million, up from about $64 million in 2008.
Harman’s husband, Sidney Harman, bought Newsweek magazine from the Washington Post Co. in August, but that transaction is not included in Roll Call’s estimate because it is not reported on Rep. Harman’s 2009 disclosure form.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Newsweek purchase included $50 million in liabilities.
4. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.)
$81.50 millionThe West Virginia Senator, a descendant of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, saw his minimum net worth swell by about 1 percent in 2009.
Rockefeller’s wealth is concentrated in three blind trusts, with a combined minimum value of at least $80 million. The largest of those trusts, an account with JPMorgan Chase Bank in New York established in 1934, is valued at “over $50 million.”
Rockefeller’s spouse, Sharon Percy Rockefeller, the daughter of former Sen. Charles Percy (R-Ill.), owns “over $1 million” in PepsiCo stock, and the family listed another trust with Lincoln Financial Group valued at “over $1 million.”
She also reported two accounts that each increased to at least $1 million in 2009, including an investment fund previously valued at $500,000 to $1 million and the Rockefeller Group Equity Fund III, also previously valued at a minimum of $500,000.
The Senator listed $5.05 million in debt from two loans, nearly all of which is attributable to one account from United National Bank valued at $5 million to $25 million.
Rockefeller continued to chip away at a smaller loan from JPMorgan Chase, which dropped in value to at least $50,000 in 2009 from at least $250,000 in 2008.
5. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas)
$73.75 millionMcCaul once again claims the largest percentage increase in wealth among any Member on the list, nearly doubling his wealth between 2008 and 2009.
But it is unclear whether McCaul’s fortune really increased by nearly $36 million or whether it was simply a reporting glitch.
According to his disclosure report, McCaul’s spouse, Linda McCaul, owns a stake in “LLM Partners Ltd., Family Limited Partnership” valued at $25 million to $50 million.
She also reported a stake in “LLM Partners, Ltd., Invest in LLM Family Investments” valued at $25 million to $50 million.
But in his 2008 financial disclosure report, McCaul reported both of these assets under a single entity, valued at $25 million to $50 million.
Although it is possible the combined accounts were worth as much as $50 million in the previous year, Roll Call considers only the minimum value of each reported asset, or $25 million for its 2008 tally.
Because McCaul now reports the accounts as separate assets, he receives twice the credit — boosting his total by $25 million with a single account.
McCaul’s minimum net worth has more than sextupled since his first financial disclosure report covering 2004, when his minimum net worth hovered around $12 million.
6. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.)
$70.19 millionWarner’s net worth appeared to slump about $2 million last year, but with really rich people, a couple million bucks is probably a rounding error.
Warner was a telecom mogul before he ran for public office, and his investment portfolio still indicates more than two dozen assets worth $1 million to $5 million each, but Roll Call rounds those all down to $1 million. He also reported three investment funds worth at least $5 million each, but he had five a year earlier. In 2009, he made seven stock purchases worth more than $1 million and 12 stock sales worth more than $1 million.
Warner also trimmed the minimum net value of his liabilities from about $3.4 million in 2008 to about $1.4 million in 2009. Most of Warner’s assets are wrapped up in blind trusts that he does not directly control.
7. Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.)
$56.49 millionPolis probably didn’t lose $15 million last year; the disclosure forms just make it look that way. A year ago, he reported having a Goldman Sachs bank deposit worth at least $25 million. This year, he listed his Goldman Sachs deposit as down to a minimum value of $50,000, but he bought about a dozen new investments worth $1 million to $5 million each. For Roll Call’s tally, each of those counts as $1 million, though they could be worth five times that.
Polis’ assets are spread across dozens of investments, but he generated his money as an Internet entrepreneur.
Polis expanded his family’s Blue Mountain Arts greeting card and publishing business online, and the company was sold in 1999 for $780 million. He also founded ProFlowers, an online florist, which later became Provide Commerce and was sold to Liberty Media in 2006 for $477 million.
He still reported several investments worth at least $5 million, including a Boulder Internet services company, the online photo company LifePics and an Asian investment portfolio.
8. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.)
$55.47 millionBuchanan boosted his minimum net worth by more than 11 percent in 2009 after reducing his debt by $3.75 million.
The Florida lawmaker, whose empire includes auto dealerships, real estate and investment accounts, reported paying off mortgages and lines of credit valued at a minimum of $4.25 million. He also dropped a $500,000 second mortgage on a Florida investment property and a $1 million loan tied to Suncoast Ford dealership from his annual report.
But Buchanan added a $1 million debt for the purchase of an Embraer Phenom aircraft and increased the debt tied to one of his auto dealerships by $500,000 to a minimum loan of $1 million.
Buchanan also reported transactions in his GenSpring Family Offices investment account that increased the fund’s value to more than $16 million in 2009 from about $13 million the previous year.
9. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.)
$49.70 millionLautenberg’s net wealth increased a bit from last year, but the more dramatic change is in the way he reported his assets.
The Senator is wealthy in his own right — he founded the data-processing company ADP — but his wife also has significant assets from a range of trusts and real estate investments. Lautenberg restructured his disclosure form this year to more clearly delineate which assets are his and which are his wife’s, which makes it difficult to compare this year’s form to last year’s.
Nevertheless, the total is a small upward trend, from a minimum value just more than $48 million to just shy of $50 million, with the purchase of several million dollars’ worth of bonds by one of his wife’s trusts.
10. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
$46.07 millionAs always, the vast majority of Feinstein’s assets are wrapped up in her husband’s myriad investment accounts, though she shares in several large assets, including an investment in Carlton Hotel Properties worth $5 million to $25 million.
Her husband’s portfolio added one major asset in 2009, a November purchase of more than $1 million worth of stock in Amyris Biotechnologies. In addition, several of his accounts showed increased value in holdings of the property management and brokerage firm CB Richard Ellis Group. The family also has two condominiums worth more than $1 million, one in Hawaii and one near Lake Tahoe.
11. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.)
$31.41 millionGrayson’s wealth was stable in 2009, although his largest asset remained a claim against the now-defunct Derivium Capital for at least $25 million.
A South Carolina court ruled in 2009 that Derivium owed its shareholders about $270 million in lost profits and that Grayson’s share would be about $34 million. The South Carolina firm managed a Ponzi scheme in which investors turned over stock to Derivium in exchange for cash loans and the right to redeem the value later if stock prices increased.
The Florida lawmaker also reported a trust valued at $5 million to $25 million. He listed no debts.
12. Rep. Harry Teague (D-N.M.)
$25.52 millionTeague revised his financial disclosure forms in September to add $24 million to his minimum net worth, and earn a late entry into Roll Call’s 50 Richest Members of Congress.
In an amendment to his 2009 financial disclosure filed Sept. 3, The New Mexico Democrat revised the value of Teaco Energy Services, the oil services firm he founded in Hobbs, N.M., to between $25 million and $50 million.
The amendment boosts his minimum net worth to $25.52 million and elevates him to No. 12 on Roll Call’s annual survey, which was published Monday.
The Clerk of the House, which maintains a public database of financial disclosures, released the document Sept. 15, after Roll Call’s deadline for its annual survey of Member wealth.
Teague listed the asset with a value of between $1 million and $5 million when he filed his annual disclosure in May, and he failed to make Roll Call’s list.
Teague spokeswoman Kara Kelber said the lawmaker filed the amendment with the ethics committee following an audit of the company and its assets.
“The comprehensive audit resulted in a higher good faith estimate of the value of the company. Based on that finding, the Congressman worked with the committee to file the appropriate amendment to ensure that his financial disclosure statement was accurate and reflected this change,” Kelber said in a written statement.
Although Teague’s fortunes appear to have dropped by more than $15 million in 2009, the difference is likely to be the result of his switch from exact values in his 2008 report to the broad categories that most Members use to report their wealth.
While Roll Call tallied Teague’s major asset at $39 million in 2008, it was counted in 2009 as only a $25 million asset, the minimum value given.
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13. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
$21.74 millionThe Speaker saw her apparent net worth — based largely on her husband’s real estate and investment portfolio — nearly double last year, though much of that could be the effect of the oddities of Congressional disclosure rules.
In 2008, she reported assets worth at least $25.28 million, which increased to a minimum of $29.74 million in 2009, mostly because of the addition of two assets worth $1 million to $5 million — an investment fund specializing in Asian ventures and a United Football League team, though the football team is also listed as posting a loss of $1 million to $5 million.
But the minimum value of the Speaker’s liabilities dropped significantly in 2009. A mortgage on a vineyard that had been valued at more than $5 million is now listed as being worth $1 million to $5 million. It is possible that the value of the liability only dropped from $5.1 million to $4.9 million, for example, but under Roll Call’s accounting method, the mortgage now counts as a $1 million liability instead of $5 million, and Pelosi’s overall liabilities dropped from $12.75 million to $8 million. Pelosi’s minimum net worth almost doubled, from $12.53 million in 2008 to $21.74 million in 2009.
14. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.)
$19.90 millionAfter his stock portfolio took a big hit in 2008, Frelinghuysen reported his minimum wealth is up $1.75 million. The majority of his wealth comes from trust funds and a slew of investments, most of which increased in value in 2009.
The Garden State lawmaker still holds $1 million in Procter & Gamble Co. stock, while two of his family trusts invest at least $6 million in the consumer goods giant. The investments that gained value in this year’s report include Exxon Mobil Corp., Emerson Electric Co. and Medtronic Inc.
Frelinghuysen also owns unimproved lands in New Jersey and Massachusetts, which retained their combined minimum value of $350,000. He reported no liabilities.
15. Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho)
$19.69 millionMuch of the Idaho Senator’s fortune is held in Idaho farm and ranch lands.
Risch owns four tracts of land in Idaho — ranging from 24 acres to about 180 acres — valued at a combined minimum of $16 million.
He also listed other real estate investments, including four investment properties in Boise, valued at $100,000 to $500,000 each. Risch also added a Washington, D.C., condominium to his assets in 2009, valued at $250,000 to$500,000.
Although Risch’s wealth increased in 2009 by about 2 percent, or $400,000, he also added about $380,000 in debts, including a mortgage valued at $250,000 to $500,000. He also disclosed a promissory note issued in 2007 from the Idaho Independent Bank valued at $250,000 to $500,000.
16. Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.)
$19.37 millionThe California Republican bulked up his minimum net worth by more than 46 percent with a half-dozen real estate investments at a combined value of at least $8 million.
In 2009, Miller acquired a stake in Long Term Bend Investors in Irvine in a transaction valued at $5 million to $25 million. The investment had a minimum value of $5 million in 2009.
He also reported five purchases of multiple lots in Bend, Ore., with a combined minimum value of at least $3.5 million.
Miller also maintains 382 acres of “vacant land” in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., valued at $5 million to $25 million, and a vacant industrial site in Rialto, Calif., valued at $1 million to $5 million.
Miller also listed new bank accounts with California Christian Credit Union and Commercial Bank with values of at least $1 million each. He reported no funds in four other accounts — Capitol Source Bank, Countrywide Bank, One West Bank and Vineyard Bank — that he previously reported with a minimum value of $1 million each.
17. Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Texas)
$18.41 millionMarchant reduced his lengthy financial disclosure report to a svelte 235 pages for 2009 — down from more than 1,400 pages in the previous year — even as his minimum net worth continued to rise.
Marchant is among a minority of Members who provide detailed account statements for at least a portion of their investments, providing a more accurate picture of his wealth.
Based solely on the value ranges Members indicate on the annual financial reports, Marchant’s minimum net worth is $17.63 million. But calculated with information from the account statements Marchant includes, his minimum wealth rises to $18.41 million.
That figure included two accounts for which Marchant provided detailed statements but neglected to actually list as assets on his annual report.
Marchant said he intended to file an amendment after being contacted by Roll Call.
“It’s my goal to disclose, disclose, disclose,” Marchant said.
Marchant’s largest asset remains his investment in the Texas-based Bonita Land and Cattle Partners, which includes more than 3,500 acres, cattle and equipment and was valued at $5 million to $25 million. The asset earned Marchant $100,000 to $1 million in income in 2009.
Marchant’s minimum net worth growth was in part due to several real estate investments that moved into higher reporting categories in 2009. Those assets include two Arlington investments each valued at $500,000 to $1 million and a Little Elm-based investment valued at $1 million to $5 million.
Marchant also listed numerous assets via his partnership in Marken Interests and Marken Development, including an investment fund valued at about $2.5 million and Fort Worth land valued at $1 million to $5 million.
With his wife, Marchant also reported a $1.5 million stock and bond fund.
His debts included mortgages on Bonita Land and Cattle valued at $1 million to $5 million. He also reported four lines of credit with a combined minimum value of at least $1.05 million.
18. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)
$18.28 millionAlthough the Tennessee Senator drops two slots on the list, his wealth increased by almost 7 percent, from $17.09 million, between 2008 and 2009.
The bulk of Corker’s wealth comes from several real estate investments in a Maryville-based shopping center and Chattanooga-based office buildings, each valued at a minimum of $5 million. He also owns a share in Pointer LP Investments worth at least $5 million and two loans worth a minimum of $1 million to the Julia Corker and Emily Corker trusts.
Corker listed about $4.5 million in liabilities, including several mortgages on properties owned in Knoxville.
19. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.)
$15.73 millionWhile McCaskill continued to see her minimum net worth shrink in 2009, the 2 percent decrease is marginal compared with the 18 percent drop she posted in 2008.
The Missouri Senator’s husband, Joseph Shepard, listed investments in more than 250 affordable housing limited partnerships.
Although many of those partnerships are listed at values of less than $1,000, both the Missouri Tax Credit Fund and the St. Louis-based Lockwood Group are valued at “over $1 million” each. Shepard also listed an investment in the Columbia-based Terrace Apartments, described as “real estate independent living,” valued at “over $1 million.”
McCaskill’s spouse also reported an investment in St. Louis-based Sugar Creek Realty valued at “over $1 million” and reported identical assets in both Wellington, New Zealand-based Fisher Funds and a Clayton-based investment fund.
Shepard also reported “over $1 million” in Enterprise Financial Services Corp. stock.
McCaskill’s debt increased slightly with a $50,000 line of credit issued to her husband from Enterprise Bank in 2009. McCaskill listed a $15,000 line of credit from the same institution to her husband in 2008.
20. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.)
$14.90 millionThe New York lawmaker’s wealth increased slightly last year, inching up almost 4 percent, or $500,000. Lowey was ranked the 19th-richest Member in 2008 with $14.38 million.
Lowey’s increase in wealth can be attributed to asset growth in several of her husband’s investments, particularly in his Glickenhaus & Co. holdings that doubled in value to a minimum of $1 million. The company is a money-management and investment-advising firm in New York City.
Lowey’s husband has several other investments worth a minimum of $1 million, including three hedge funds, a profit-sharing plan and mutual funds.
The couple continued to jointly hold several investment accounts, including $1 million in Citibank and $500,000 in Fidelity.
21. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)
$12.54 millionThe Maine Senator, who reported a 21 percent drop in value in 2008, increased her worth by a minimum of $690,000, or roughly 6 percent, last year. Snowe’s wealth is primarily linked to Education Management Corp., a Pittsburgh-based company where her spouse, former Maine Gov. John McKernan (R), serves as chairman of the board of directors.
Snowe’s husband holds $5 million to $25 million in Education Management stock, with an additional $1 million to $5 million in the company’s stock option agreement.
The Senator’s rise in fortune last year is tied to the purchase of two U.S. Treasury bills, a transaction valued at a combined minimum of $750,000. She listed no liabilities.
22. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)
$12.12 millionThe Tennessee Senator continues to hold a majority of his wealth in stocks and real estate, which largely retained their value in 2009. In the latest disclosure, he reported just a $10,000 dip in his minimum wealth.
Alexander owns $5 million to $25 million of stock in Knoxville-based Processed Foods Corp., where he served on the board before his Senate election in 2002. His wife also continues to own more than $1 million in company stock.
The couple listed more than $2.5 million worth of real estate holdings, including commercial buildings and undeveloped properties dispersed throughout Texas, Tennessee and Massachusetts. Most of the property values remained steady, except for the Walland, Tenn., plot, which dropped in minimum value to $250,000 in 2009 from $500,000.
23. Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.)
$10.90 millionAlthough he jumped from 27th-richest Member last year to 23rd this year, the Montana lawmaker’s holdings remained mostly the same. The ranch and real estate owner increased his net worth by less than 1 percent last year, mostly because of slight increases in stock values.
Rehberg continued to hold a majority of his wealth in several farms and ranches, valued at a combined $11.5 million, and in two Billings rental properties, valued at a combined minimum of $350,000.
The lawmaker’s liabilities totaled $1.3 million for development, construction and agricultural loans.
24. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)
$10.52 millionThe McCain family fortune appeared to decline in 2009 as the value of the assets held by dependent children dropped by more than $3 million because son Jack McCain is no longer counted as a dependent. This decline was offset somewhat by a $1 million decrease in the family’s liabilities.
Roll Call has also revised its calculation of McCain’s minimum 2008 assets downward by about $1 million.
As in previous years, almost none of the assets that McCain reported are his own. It is mostly money from his wife’s family beer distribution business, which the Associated Press reported in 2008 was likely worth more than $100 million.
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25. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)
$10.45 millionAfter experiencing a dip in his minimum net worth in 2008, Harkin rebounded to his previous level, adding $2 million to his bottom line in 2009.
The Iowa Senator boosted his net worth with the disclosure of an Abaco, Bahamas, vacation home, valued at $500,000 to $1 million. The rental property earned $15,000 to $50,000 in rent in 2009.
Harkin reported the home for the first time in 2009 because he had not previously earned rental income, according to his office.
Harkin’s assets also included his wife’s investment of “over $1 million” in United Technologies Corp. stock and from $500,000 to $1 million in ConocoPhillips Co. stock. Ruth Harkin previously served as United Technologies’ senior vice president for international affairs and government relations. She also serves on the board of ConocoPhillips and AbitibiBowater Inc.
Ruth Harkin’s assets, which account for nearly all of the couple’s wealth, also included four ING annuity accounts, two of which grew from at least $250,000 each in 2008 to at least $500,000 each in 2009.
26. Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.)
$9.73 millionThe lawmaker jumped two spots on the list despite seeing his minimum net worth decline by about $80,000 from the prior year. Campbell’s assets are primarily derived from several California properties, which retained their minimum combined value of $7 million.
One significant difference in Campbell’s 2009 disclosure form was that he no longer claimed his son as a dependent, thus accounting for the losses in a Wells Fargo bank account and a GMAC demand note. The Californian also sold a $250,000 bond.
Several of Campbell’s iShare stocks increased, which brought his total minimum wealth back to an even keel. He reported no liabilities.
27. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.)
$9.30 millionThe New York lawmaker moves down several spots in Roll Call’s annual survey following the death of her husband, Clifton Maloney.
Rep. Maloney reported about $5 million less in assets than in 2008 and excluded numerous accounts that she had previously listed. Those assets belonged to her husband and were not inherited by the lawmaker, according to her office.
Clifton Maloney, an investment banker, died in 2009 during an expedition to climb the 27,000-foot summit of Tibet’s Cho Oyu, the world’s sixth-highest peak.
Carolyn Maloney continued to invest in commercial and residential real estate in Virginia and North Carolina, including stock in Sea Bay Development Corp. valued at $500,000 to $1 million and an investment in Bosher Family valued at $1 million to $5 million.
Maloney also owns a New York “rental property and residence” valued at $5 million to $25 million, and a Washington, D.C., property valued at $1 million to $5 million that earned from $50,000 to $100,000 in rental income.
The New Yorker reported at least $2.25 million in mortgage debts and other loans.
28. Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.)
$9.11 millionPetri’s investment in Walgreens Co. rose in 2009, boosting his reported wealth nearly 79 percent and putting him back on the list after he failed to make the cut last year.
The Wisconsin lawmaker reported owning at least $5 million in the drugstore’s stock, up from the minimum $1 million value that he gave the investment in 2008. The company’s stock rose from about $24 in the end of 2008 to around $36 in December 2009.
Petri’s other investments included at least $1 million each in Berkshire Hathaway, Lloyd’s of London and U.S. Bank.
Petri dropped a handful of investments, including at least $250,000 in U.S. Treasury bonds. His office said the accounts belonged to a previously dependent child who is no longer required to be reported.
Petri reported one debt, a Merrill Lynch loan secured by stock, valued at $1 million to $5 million.
29. Rep. Chris Lee (R-N.Y.)
$8.74 millionThe churn in the Lee family assets continued last year, and the New York Republican appears to come out a little better off than he was before. After his election in 2008, Lee — who had been an executive in his family’s mechanical parts business — sold numerous assets, and his apparent net worth dropped from a little more than $11 million to just more than $7 million.
Last year, Lee bought and sold dozens of mutual fund accounts in hundreds of transactions, and his reported minimum net worth increased more than $1 million.
Because of the ranges used in these reports, there is no way to know whether he is poorer than he was two years ago or richer than he was last year. Lee also bought a residential property in Lancaster worth $100,000 to $250,000, but that asset was offset by a mortgage of the same value, which was his only listed liability.
30. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.)
$8.51 millionThe Georgia lawmaker saw steady growth in multiple investment accounts and individual retirement accounts, increasing his minimum net worth by 19 percent, or $1.36 million.
According to detailed financial statements Price included with his annual report, four retirement accounts owned by Price or his wife, Lisa Price, increased by a combined $500,000 to a total of $2.39 million.
In addition, three Fidelity Investments accounts owned by Price or the couple grew to a combined $2.05 million, an increase of more than $400,000.
Price also reported several real estate investments, the most valuable of which is a vacant lot the couple owns in St. Simons, valued at $1 million to $5 million.
Price also reported a Minnesota Life Annuities insurance fund valued at $1 million to $5 million.
He listed no debts.
31. Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.)
$8.48 millionThe soon-to-be former Delaware Senator saw a 6 percent uptick, or about $500,000, in his wealth since being sworn in to office in January 2009.
Kaufman maintained nearly $2 million in municipal bonds, and he and his wife, Lynne Kaufman, own at least $1.67 million worth of certificates of deposit at various institutions.
The duo previously held a diverse stock portfolio in a series of joint investment accounts, but Kaufman closed those accounts in early 2009 and established nearly identical funds in only Lynne Kaufman’s name.
Kaufman also maintained funds in the Kaufman Mayo Foundation, including a $122,000 investment in Abbott Labs, a medical and pharmaceutical manufacturer. Lynne Kaufman also reported her own stake in Abbott Labs, recording stock holdings of about $610,000 in a separate account.
32. Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.)
$8.34 millionWith a change in her reporting method, Berkley shoots back up the list of the richest Members. In previous years, Berkley filed detailed account statements providing actual amounts for her assets. In 2009, she instead reported her assets in the ranges provided on the disclosure forms, which created a lower total for her net worth in Roll Call’s accounting system, about $5.4 million. She returned to her traditional reporting method this year, and her minimum net worth for 2009 returned to about $8.3 million, near where it was in 2007. Berkley’s husband owns several dialysis services, and a Morgan Stanley investment fund worth more than $2.7 million.
33. Rep. Parker Griffith (R-Ala.)
$8.29 millionAlthough he made his debut appearance at No. 44 on last year’s wealth survey, Griffith jumped several places in the off-season when he revised his financial disclosure forms to reveal an additional $1 million in investments.
Among the increases, Griffith reported one mutual fund now valued at $1 million to $5 million, up from $500,000 to $1 million in 2008.
Griffith also holds multiple real estate investments, including a Madison County farm valued at $1 million to $5 million, which he rents for $5,000 to $15,000 annually, and Albertville farmland valued at $500,000 to $1 million. He also owns five other rental properties with a combined minimum value of at least $1.5 million.
Griffith had at least $1.35 million in debts, including a mortgage on a Huntsville property for $1 million to $5 million.
34. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas)
$8.03 millionDoggett is back. Roll Call reported that the Texas Democrat’s stock portfolio had shed about $1 million in minimum net worth in 2008, with losses particularly acute in the upscale grocery chain Whole Foods. Doggett’s portfolio for 2009 shows nice increases across the board, including Whole Foods, and his overall minimum net worth — about $8 million — is only $300,000 short of where it was in 2007.
35. Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C.)
$7.94 millionWhile much of the South Carolina lawmaker’s fortune stems from 800 acres of land in Fort Mill valued at $5 million to $25 million, it is residential real estate that boosted his fortunes by about $1 million in 2009.
In his most recent report, Spratt relisted his York home, valued at $500,000 to $1 million.
The House Budget chairman did not report his personal residence last year, but Members are required to report only property held for an investment purpose or real estate that generates rental income. The property did not produce any income in 2009, but he reported it anyway.
Spratt also reported an increase in the value of a Washington, D.C., home to $1 million to $5 million in 2009. He reported no rental income from that property.
Spratt earned $5,000 to $15,000 in rental income from his Fort Mill acreage, portions of which he leases for use as cattle pasture, horse pasture, tree and plant nursery, and strawberry farm.
The lawmaker also dropped several debts from his 2009 report, including an auto loan valued at $15,000 to $50,000 and a mortgage on rental property in York valued at $15,000 to $50,000.
Spratt also listed only one mortgage on the York residential property valued at at least $100,000. He had previously listed a second mortgage valued at at least $250,000.
36. Rep. John Linder (R-Ga.)
$7.90 millionLinder’s minimum net worth increased by a tidy $1.1 million in 2009.
The Georgia lawmaker and his wife each sold shares of the Nuveen Insured Municipal Opportunity Fund — previously valued at a minimum of $500,000 — and each reported interest and capital gains valued at $100,000 to $1 million.
Linder also reported a rise in the value of three of the couple’s six money market accounts. The combined minimum value of the six accounts, owned by Linder, his spouse or jointly, rose to at least $3.5 million in 2009 from $1.85 million in 2008.
Linder and his wife, Lynne Linder, each claimed investments in Myrtle, Miss., farmland valued at $1 million to $5 million. Neither reported income from the property.
Lynne Linder also owns a stake in the Turkey Buzzard Timber Co. valued at $500,000 to $1 million, and two related investments valued at $100,000 to $250,000 each.
Rep. Linder also owns a “note receivable” from Grayling Industries, the Georgia manufacturer of plastic packaging that he sold in 2007, valued at $1 million to $5 million.
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July 10, 2009
10,759 Posts
OfflineThe 50 Richest Members of Congress, cont'd.
37. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.)
$7.71 millionUpton drops several places in this year’s rankings as a money market fund previously valued at $1 million falls to a minimum value of $250,000.
But the Michigan lawmaker’s major assets, including a family trust fund worth at least $5 million, remained stable.
That trust fund included at least $1 million in cash and a stake in Whirlpool Appliances — which is based in the Congressman’s district and was founded by the Upton family — valued at $1 million to $5 million.
With his wife, Upton also owns another investment in Whirlpool valued at $1 million to $5 million.
The lawmaker listed no debts.
38. Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.)
$7.33 millionFoster saw his wealth grow more than 10 percent from 2008 to 2009, from $6.64 million to $7.33 million.
The Democratic lawmaker continued to hold a majority of his assets, a minimum of $5 million, in a theater-light company that he co-founded with his brother in 1975, Electronic Theatre Controls Inc.
Foster listed HSBC Bank, Harris Bank Batavia and Congressional Federal Credit Union accounts each valued at a minimum of $250,000.
Although the promissory note that Foster holds in his business decreased in value to $250,000, some of his smaller stock investments grew to counter the loss.
39. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
$7.10 millionMcConnell boosted his fortune by nearly $1 million after dropping all his debts in 2009.
The Senate Minority Leader paid off a mortgage valued at $100,000 to $250,000 on his Capitol Hill row house in 2009. He also dropped a guarantee for two lines of credit to his re-election committee valued at $1 million to $5 million, which he reported paying in full in 2008.
McConnell, who is married to former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, maintains the bulk of his wealth in a jointly held tax-exempt money market account valued at $5 million to $25 million. McConnell first reported the fund last year as a gift from Chao’s father, who gave the couple the funds in memory of Chao’s late mother.
40. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.)
$6.90 millionBingaman and his wife have an unusually active investment portfolio, racking up nearly 600 separate purchases and sales of stock in 2009, worth a combined total of more than $20 million. The net result is a nice increase of about $2 million in the couple’s minimum net worth, particularly reflected in the growth of holdings in Goldman Sachs, with one account jumping from about $2.4 million to about $5 million. As Roll Call reported last year, Bingaman’s 2008 financial report indicated his wife made purchases of more than $4 million in Goldman Sachs accounts. The couple reported one mortgage worth a minimum of $500,000 and two $10,000 credit lines as liabilities.
41. Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.)
$6.83 millionAn explosion in the stock value of Seattle-based biotechnology company Dendreon catapults Bayh onto the richest Members list for the first time in several years.
The Indiana Senator’s wife, Susan Bayh, serves on Dendreon’s board of directors and saw the value of her unexercised stock options rocket to “over $1 million” in 2009 from $15,000 to $50,000 in the previous year. Susan Bayh also reported her existing stock in Dendreon rose from at least $1,000 to at least $250,000.
According to a May report in the Wall Street Journal, Susan Bayh exercised her stock options and earned nearly $2.5 million from their sale. Stock in the company was valued at $4.58 in December 2008 and rose to $26.28 in December 2009.
Dendreon received approval from the Food and Drug Administration in April to market Provenge, a prostate cancer drug.
Susan Bayh’s stock in health-benefits company Wellpoint Inc. also increased to “over $1 million” from at least $500,000 on the Senator’s previous report. Susan Bayh also serves on Wellpoint’s board of directors.
Bayh also reported the couple’s Bethany Beach, Del., vacation home valued at its 2004 purchase price of $1.85 million. The report notes “market value ... was lower” at the end of 2009.
Bayh’s assets also included a $1.84 million Federated Tax-Free Obligations Fund. His minimum net worth increased nearly 50 percent in 2009.
42. Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Wis.)
$6.77 millionKagen’s wealth, which is mostly tied up in bonds, fell 5 percent from the previous year’s total, mostly because of various sales.
In 2008, the Wisconsin Congressman’s largest asset, Streettracks Gold Trust exchange-traded fund, was valued at $1 million. Thanks to a partial sale, the ETF is now valued at $250,000 — and Kagen indicated he made $50,000 to $100,000 on the sale.
With that sale, Kagen’s largest assets are now the ETF and a bank account held in Atlanta, also with a minimum value of $250,000.
43. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.)
$6.74 millionIn his 2009 disclosure form, Nelson reported a 3 percent dip in minimum wealth. The bulk of his worth comes from bonds and certificates of deposit, which largely retained their value in 2009.
The Nebraska Senator owns $250,000 to $500,000 in Berkshire Hathaway stock, which was listed at $500,000 to $1 million in 2008. His spouse holds more than $1 million in the company’s stock. Nelson holds $500,000 to $1 million in an Ameritas Life IRA, while his wife holds the same amount in a Principal Life Insurance IRA annuity.
The Senator’s assets also included a development property in Springfield valued at $500,000 to $1 million and a minimum of $500,000 of stock in Behlen Manufacturing Co., where he serves on the board but is not compensated. Nelson listed no liabilities.
44. Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.)
$6.67 millionMuch of the North Carolina Senator’s net worth is stored in Florida warehouses.
Her husband, Chip Hagan, reported multiple investments in commercial warehouses in Lakeland valued at a combined minimum of $5.2 million.
Sen. Hagan, who with her spouse maintains a diverse stock portfolio, saw her minimum net worth unchanged in 2009.
The couple reported more than 16 mortgages on unidentified buildings in North Carolina and Florida, along with other debts, valued at a combined minimum of about $3 million.
45. Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas)
$6.66 millionNeugebauer’s wealth increased by more than $700,000, allowing him to pass the $6 million mark.
Three new bank accounts contain at least $116,000, while new purchases of bonds and stocks added a minimum of $466,000.
In addition to several real estate holdings and partnerships, he listed at least $1.7 million in bonds in several states.
His Washington, D.C., property (his largest asset) continued to be valued at $1 million to $5 million, based on an estimated fair market value.
His liabilities are his mortgage on his D.C. property of at least $500,000 and a revolving charge account of at least $15,000.
46. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.)
$6.31 millionIsakson’s portfolio still has not recovered from the apparent beating it took in 2008, when his assets showed a loss of nearly 25 percent of their minimum value. That year, Isakson’s minimum net worth dropped from $8.2 million to $6.4 million. In 2009, the number was down to about $6.3 million, with several stock holdings showing lower value, but a long list of purchases of new holdings. His largest single asset is a 12-acre parcel of land in Rabun County worth more than $1 million.
47. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.)
$6.22 millionBennet saw a small rise in the value of his reported holdings, but the real issue is transactions, not assets.
Upon joining the Senate in January 2009. Bennet sold his stock holdings for fear they would create a conflict of interest. He reported dozens of transactions worth more than $2 million, but he apparently took losses on almost all of the sales. In an amendment filed in response to Roll Call’s inquiries, he reported total income from the sales of just more than $18,000.
Bennet’s primary asset was a Treasury cash reserve account worth $5 million to $25 million, and he reported no liabilities.
48. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.)
$6.07 millionWith the 2009 death of his father, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Rep. Kennedy inherited three family trust accounts worth at least $6 million and likely much more. One account is listed with no net value, with the explanation that the value is “unknown pending administration of estate.” The younger Kennedy also has a fourth family trust fund that he has reported for years, but for which he has never reported an overall value because it is a blind trust. Kennedy is retiring at the end of the 111th Congress, making his first appearance on the richest Members list his last as well.
49. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.)
$5.66 millionThe Connecticut lawmaker’s net worth barely shifted, with the values of retirement accounts going up and the value in her checking accounts and stock holdings dropping.
In 2008, her shared bank account with husband and pollster Stan Greenberg contained $250,000 to $500,000. In 2009, that same account contains $50,000 to $100,000. That drop is balanced out by a rise in one retirement account’s value to $500,000 to $1 million.
Her largest reported asset continues to be her husband’s stake in Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, valued at $5 million to $25 million.
DeLauro’s liabilities grew dramatically over the $15,000 that she reported in 2008. She listed three loans owned by her husband with a minimum combined value of $165,000.
50. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)
$5.34 millionWyden debuts on the richest Members list with a nearly 41 percent increase in his wealth, according to his most recent financial disclosure form.
The Oregon Senator was propelled onto the list via his wife, Nancy Bass-Wyden, a co-owner of New York’s Strand bookstore.
Bass-Wyden’s stock share of Bass Real Estate rose in value to “over $1 million” in 2009, up from at least $500,000 in the previous year.
The Senator’s spouse also claimed “over $1 million” investments in both Strand bookstore and Bass Book Trading Inc. She also listed an investment of at least $500,000 in Strand II Corp.
Bass-Wyden also saw the value of a Merrill Lynch deposit fund spike from at least $250,000 to “over $1 million” in 2009.
Wyden listed no debts.
51. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.)
$5.06 millionThe California Democrat saw her net worth slip from about $5.8 million to just more than $5 million from 2008 to 2009 largely based on the addition of a new mortgage liability worth $500,000 to $1 million.
Speier’s biggest assets are two rental properties in Sacramento and her husband’s stock in his investment firm, Strategic Investment Solutions, each worth more than $1 million.
Addendum
The article has been updated to reflect an amendment from Rep. Harry Teague released by the Clerk of the House after Roll Call's print deadline that vaulted him to No. 12 on the list.
Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) filed an amended report Sept. 21 that makes her the 50th richest lawmaker in Roll Call’s annual survey with a minimum net worth of $5.44 million.
When Roll Call published its annual survey of Member wealth Sept. 20, Lummis didn’t make the cut, reporting a minimum net worth of $4.44 million.
But the following day the Wyoming lawmaker amended her forms to include husband Al Wiederspahn’s investment in Equipoise Corp., valued at $1 million to $5 million.
Although Lummis rejoins the 50 Richest club, she did not recapture her previous ranking as the 15th wealthiest lawmaker, when she posted a minimum net wealth of $17.12 million.
Lummis’ wealth is tied to three Cheyenne, Wyo.-based cattle ranches, but she downgraded the minimum value of all three properties in her most recent report to $1 million to $5 million. Lummis had previously valued the ranches at $5 million to $25 million each.
51 Congress Members listed instead of 50 per Rollcall com
Method 1: 4-6-0
Method 2: 4-9-5
Method 3: 4-2-9
Method 4: 4-4-3
Method 5: 0-7-5
Method 6: 3-1-6Method 1: 5-6-2-8
Method 2: 8-4-3-4
Method 3: 3-2-3-1
Method 4: 6-5-9-3
Method 5: 4-8-0-8
Method 6: 2-7-9-1 -
“How you do anything is how you do everything.”United States
Member #76,984
July 10, 2009
10,759 Posts
OfflineKentucky man buys up K-Mart inventory and gives it to charity.
May, 2012
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“How you do anything is how you do everything.”United States
Member #76,984
July 10, 2009
10,759 Posts
OfflineThe Top 25 Millionaires & Billionaires That Are Using Their Money To Save The World
When you think of the word “Philanthropist“, people such as Bill & Melinda Gates, Warren Buffett & Oprah Winfrey may come to mind. These are just a few of the many super rich that have devoted their lives to changing the world for the better through the riches and Success they have made over their lives. Read on to see the list of the Top 25 Richest Millionaires & Billionaires giving away their money to make this world a better place.
#25 Lee and Jane Seidman
Amount donated in 2010: $42 million
Net worth: Not available
Beneficiary: University Hospitals in Cleveland
Background: Seidman is the retired founder and president of the Motorcars Group, a Cleveland-based conglomerate of car dealerships. He pledged in 2010 to give away 90% of his wealth before the end of the year.
#24 Larry Ellison
Amount donated in 2010: $45.1 million
Net worth: $39.5 billion (via Forbes)
Beneficiary: Ellison Medical Foundation
Background: Ellison, the founder of Oracle, started his foundation in 1997 for biomedical research.
#23 Bennett S. LeBow
Amount donated in 2010: $49 million
Net worth: Not available
Beneficiary: Drexel University
Background: LeBow is the chairman and CEO of Borders and chairman of the Vector Group, a holding company for manufacturers of cigarettes. He’s a graduate of Drexel and the university’s business school bears his name.
#19 (tie) P. Roy and Diana Vagelos
Amount donated in 2010: $50 million
Net worth: $535 million (via the National Herald)
Beneficiary: Columbia University Medical Center
Background: Dr. Vagelos is the former CEO and chairman of pharmaceutical giant Merck. He’s an alumnus of the medical school associated with the hospital.
#19 (tie) Paul Ichiro Terasaki
Amount donated in 2010: $50 million
Net worth: Not available
Beneficiary: University of California at Los Angeles
Background: Dr. Terasaki is a pioneer in the field of organ transplant medicine. In 1946 he developed the test that became the international standard method for tissue typing. He conducted his research in the university’s laboratories.
#19 (tie) Ming Hsieh
Amount donated in 2010: $50 million
Net worth: $1.6 billion (via Forbes)
Beneficiary: University of Southern California
Background: Hsieh founded AMAX Information Technologies, a computer server and storage systems maker, and Cogent, which develops automated fingerprint-identification systems. He’s a graduate of the school, as well as a trustee.
#19 (tie) Ned Evans
Amount donated in 2010: $50 million
Net worth: $6.5 billion (via Boston Magazine)
Beneficiary: Yale University
Background: Evans, who passed away last year, was a private investor and the chairman of publishing company Macmillan from 1979 to 1989. He was also a well-known horse breeder, as well as an alumnus of Yale.
#18 Charles E. Kaufman
Amount donated in 2010: $53.3 million (estimated bequest)
Net worth: Not available
Beneficiaries: The Pittsburgh Foundation and other charities
Background: Kaufman, who passed away last year, was an investor and the former director of purchasing at pharmaceutical company Merck. His gift will support research in biology, chemistry, and physics
#17 Bill and Karen Ackman
Amount donated in 2010: $59.3 million
Net worth: $700 million (via Forbes)
Beneficiary: Pershing Square Foundation
Background: Ackman is the founder of New York-based hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management. Along with his wife, he created the Pershing Square Foundation in 2006 to support education, human rights, social entrepreneurship, and other causes.
#16 Pierre and Pam Omidyar
Amount donated in 2010: $61.5 million
Net worth: $6.2 billion (via Forbes)
Beneficiaries: HopeLab, Humanity United, Omidyar Network, and the Ulupono Initiative
Background: Omidyar is the founder of eBay. His wife is the chairwoman of HopeLab, a nonprofit that develops technology to benefit chronically ill children.
#15 Henry C. Jr. and Jane Woods
Amount donated in 2010:$67 million (bequest)
Net worth: Not available
Beneficiaries: Lawrenceville School and North Shore Country Day School
Background: Woods is the heir to the Sahara Coal Company fortune. The bulk of last year’s donation went to the Lawrenceville School, a private school in New Jersey from which he graduated and where he was a longtime teacher and chair of the English department.
#14 David and Patricia Atkinson
Amount donated in 2010: $80 million
Net worth: Not available
Beneficiary: Cornell University
Background: Atkinson is a former partner of Miller, Anderson & Sherrerd, a money management firm. He now runs Atkinson & Company, a private investment business he owns with his wife. Their gift went towards a research center focusing on energy, sustainability and the environment.
#13 Juanita Kious Waugh
Amount donated in 2010: $83.7 million (estimated bequest)
Net worth: Not available
Beneficiaries: The Mayo Clinic, Saint Joseph’s College in Indiana
Background: Waugh, who passed away last year, managed her family’s farms and was the heir to part of their cattle, farming and banking fortune. She and her parents had been patients of the Mayo Clinic.
#12 Terrence and Kim Pegula
Amount donated in 2010: $88 million
Net worth: $3.1 billion (via Forbes)
Beneficiary: Pennsylvania State University
Background: Pegula founded East Resources, an oil and gas exploration and development company, which he sold to Royal Dutch Shell in 2010 for $4.7 billion. The donation from Pegula, an alumnus, will go towards the university’s hockey program.
#10 (tie) Mark Zuckerberg
Amount donated in 2010: $100 million
Net worth: $17.5 billion (via Forbes)
Beneficiary: Startup: Education
Background: Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, made a huge donation to his own foundation, which will support programs that benefit the school system in Newark, N.J. The sum will be paid out over five years.
#10 (tie) Marc and Lynne Benioff
Amount donated in 2010: $100 million
Net worth: $1.9 billion (via Forbes)
Beneficiary: University of California at San Francisco Children’s Hospital
Background: Benioff is the founder of Salesforce.com. His daughter was born at the hospital, and he is a member of its board.
#9 Meyer and Renee Luskin
Amount donated in 2010: $100.5 million
Net worth: Not available
Beneficiary: University of California at Los Angeles
Background: Luskin is the chairman of Scope Industries, a major maker of animal feed. He is a graduate of UCLA and the couple’s gift will go towards a variety of academic programs.
#8 T. Boone Pickens
Amount donated in 2010: $101 million
Net worth: $1.45 billion (via Forbes)
Beneficiaries: Oklahoma State University and other charities
Background: The founder of oil company Mesa Petroleum and energy investment firm BP Capital, Pickens is a graduate of OSU. His donation will endow need-based scholarships for students.
#7 Frances Lasker Brody
Amount donated in 2010: $110 million (estimated bequest)
Net worth: Not available
Beneficiary:The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Background: Brody, who passed away in 2009, was the heir to both the fortune of her father, an advertising pioneer, and her husband Sidney Brody, a real estate magnate. She was a member of the library’s board of overseers, and her donation was largely funded by the sale of her vast art collection.
#6 Leonard Blavatnik
Amount donated in 2010: $117.2 million
Net worth: $9.5 billion (via Forbes)
Beneficiary: University of Oxford
Background: Blavatnik is the founder of Access Industries, a major holding company. He did not attend Oxford, but decided the university was the right choice after learning that it wanted to create a school dedicated to “improving government and public-policy practices globally.”
#5 Edythe and Eli Broad
Amount donated in 2010: $118.3 million
Net worth: $6.3 billion (via Forbes)
Beneficiary: Broad Foundations
Background: Broad is the founder and chairman of homebuilder KB Home Corporation and financial services company SunAmerica. The couple’s foundation supports civic programs, contemporary art museums, education, and medical and scientific research. Broad is also funding a new art museum in Los Angeles.
#4 Irwin and Joan Jacobs
Amount donated in 2010: $119.5 million
Net worth: $1.15 billion (via Forbes)
Beneficiaries: University of California at San Diego Health System, Joan and Irwin Jacobs Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego
Background: Jacobs is a co-founder of Qualcomm, the wireless communications company. The bulk of their donation went to the UCSD health system, which is building a new medical center to be named after the couple.
#3 T. Denny Sanford
Amount donated in 2010: $162.5 million
Net worth: $600 million (via The Daily)
Beneficiaries: Sanford Health Foundation, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and the Florida Hospital for Children
Background: The noted philanthropist is chairman of United National Corporation, a banking business in South Dakota. His most recent gift to his foundation will establish a national institute for research and treatment of breast cancer.
#2 Michael R. Bloomberg
Amount donated in 2010: $279.2 million
Net worth: $19.5 billion (via Forbes)
Beneficiaries: Arts, human services, public affairs, and other groups
Background: The founder of Bloomberg LP and Mayor of New York city gave to 970 different nonprofit groups in 2010. Since 2004, the first year the Philanthropy list was published, he has given away well over $100 million annually.
#1 George Soros
Amount donated in 2010: $332 million
Net worth: $22 billion (via Forbes)
Beneficiary: Open Society Foundations
Background: Soros is a financier and the chair of Soros Fund Management, which manages hedge funds. He’s also the founder of Open Society Foundations, which supports human rights organizations and democratic institutions.
Thanks ~ Chronicle of Philanthropy
Method 1: 1-0-8 Method 2: 7-1-6 Method 3: 6-3-4
Method 4: 8-3-7 Method 5: 4-5-0 Method 6: 0-5-6
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“How you do anything is how you do everything.”United States
Member #76,984
July 10, 2009
10,759 Posts
OfflineSimple Living: Determining Your Priorities
Even with the economy slowly exiting the spectacular nosedive it took last year, many people find themselves with a renewed interest in living simply. However, what that means for each person depends on their own individual priorities.
Determining what this means for each of us sounds like it should be easy, but instead is something many of us struggle with more than we are at peace about it.
Simplistic it might seem, but the easiest way to figure out your priorities is to make a list, then whittle it down based on how the different things that are important to you interact.There are some questions you can ask that dig right to the heart of this matter. They aren't always easy, but the answers will be more than satisfying.What is necessary?Things that are necessary must be done, plain and simple. It doesn't matter how much we like them — if they're essential, they go on the list.However, we often tend to think things are essential that aren't. For instance, the amount of money we need can sometimes be drastically reduced if we eliminate things that truly aren't needed.
Sure, we need food, water, and shelter, but do we really need catered lunches, Evian, and more bedrooms than there will ever be people in the house?Include in your thoughts about necessities things like your individual needs for time and space. Maybe your mental health suffers if you don't meditate every day, or you continually dream of 30 minutes uninterrupted time alone. These are necessities, too, even if you usually ignore them. Add these items to your list.What do you like?While we certainly can't eliminate everything unpleasant from our list of priorities, we're going to be more likely to focus on things we enjoy doing. It's worthwhile to make a list of these things, even if we find that some of them can't make our ultimate priority list.Think about how you dream of spending your time — those things you'd love to do that consistently get ignored in favor of other, more urgent happenings. Think also about how you function best, whether it's being alone, finding yourself surrounded by people, or at a purple desk with glow-in-the-dark stars on the walls.Think also about your if-onlys — that list of things you would do if only you had more time, money, space, energy, whatever.Add them all to your list. Set your list asideOnce you have your list, walk away from it for a while. Leave it someplace where you won't see it, where you might even forget it exists. Put a date on the calendar 2-4 weeks out from where you are now, to remind yourself to go back to it.During these weeks away, don't intentionally think about your list, but don't stop yourself from thinking about it and the items on it, either. Note what you think about, but hold the thoughts loosely. Review your list and make changes.When the day pops up in your calendar, go back to your list. Read the items on it again, without trying to judge them or put them in order. Cross off anything that no longer seems to fit. Don't judge these choices — often, our priorities are buried so deeply inside us that we can't articulate why something does or does not belong.Repeat this process of setting your list aside and coming back to it until you feel like the list in front of you is what you need to focus on, regardless of whether or not you like each of the items or think it's actually possible.Take a deep breath when you get this list, then look at it again. Here, sitting right in front of you, is your own personal guide to simple living. Put your best energy toward these things and you will find your life taking on an easier, more manageable tone, not only psychologically but spiritually, emotionally, physically, and financially as well.Thanks ~ Sarah Winfrey
Method 1: 2-7-6
Method 2: 4-7-8
Method 3: 3-8-2
Method 4: 3-9-9
Method 5: 1-2-2
Method 6: 5-5-3